Lord Rong didn't suspect her. He sighed helplessly and said, "You were a bit impulsive in this matter. Fortunately, you've returned safely. After all, there's chaos in the northwest. You're just a woman, so far away in Hanzhong. What if something had happened to you?"
Hearing the concern in Lord Rong's words, Wei Dongling was touched. "It's my fault. I've made you worry. But it's okay. I went there with Prince Shangguan Yun."
"Oh? Prince Yun?" Lord Rong frowned, looking rather stunned.
Not long ago, he had agreed to General Qi's proposal to arrange a marriage between Shangguan Yun and Qi Jinxuan. However, a bunch of people had jumped out to oppose it. The Crown Prince had firmly protested, and Princess Yunxi, the seventh princess, had made a huge fuss. He had been so busy dealing with all this that he hadn't even had the time to punish the princess, when he heard that Shangguan Yun had left the capital and disappeared! He never thought that little rascal had gone to Hanzhong!
Wei Dongling smiled. "Yes. We were really lucky to have Prince Yun this time. We poisoned nearly a hundred thousand iron cavalry and used other methods to make them give up the siege. The poison was very powerful. It'll probably take them two or three months to recover. But the problem is that there are only about ten thousand soldiers defending Hanzhong City at present. It's quite a headache."
To protect Yu Zixi from unwanted attention, Wei Dongling left him out of the story completely. She said it was all Shangguan Yun's idea. After all, they were so close that they were like one person. Thinking that Yu Zixi had seen them hugging today and must be feeling jealous, she knew she'd have to spend some time soothing him later. She couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed.
Lord Rong had already sent troops to Hanzhong. Hearing this, he frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What exactly happened?"
Wei Dongling never mentioned Yu Zixi. She just gave a general account of what had happened. She was such a good storyteller that Lord Rong didn't suspect a thing.
After listening to her story, Lord Rong let out a long sigh. "You've both worked hard. By the way, you and Prince Yun seem to be very close. Are you sure you don't have any feelings for him?"
"Sure! I'm as sincere as a pearl!" Wei Dongling waved her hand. "We're just friends, the kind who'd do anything for each other! I've always known that I'm of humble origin and not good enough for a royal prince."
Lord Rong glanced at her and replied casually, "In my eyes, you're good enough for any man."
Wei Dongling beamed. She stuffed all kinds of snacks into her mouth and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Rong. I'm really grateful."
Lord Rong nodded. "If you want to do business in other places, come and talk to me in advance. I know some local officials. I can help you out."
Wei Dongling smiled. "That'd be great! By the way, I don't know where you live, Lord Rong. I wanted to visit your place to thank you for saving my family last time, but I couldn't find out where you lived no matter how hard I tried."
Lord Rong remained calm. "I've been doing some secret work for the emperor. It's not convenient for others to know my whereabouts."
"I see," Wei Dongling said, suddenly realizing.
Lord Rong took out a jade token from his pocket and handed it to Wei Dongling. "Just use this token to find me in the future. The people of Prince Rui will contact me in time."
"Okay!" Wei Dongling took the heavy jade token with both hands. It was made of good material and well-crafted. It must be worth a lot of money in the pawnshop! She was overjoyed.
Lord Rong looked at her with a gentle smile. "If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to me at any time. In my heart, you're as important as my own daughter."
Wei Dongling quickly stood up to thank him.
Lord Rong asked again, "So, Prince Yun is back in the capital too?"
Wei Dongling shrugged. "Yes! He didn't even go back to the prince's mansion. He went straight to Lanshan Temple and said he wanted to become a monk. No one could stop him."
Hearing this, Lord Rong's face darkened instantly.
After seeing Wei Dongling off, Lord Rong sighed as he looked at the snacks on the table. When General Fang came back, he asked in surprise, "Why didn't you send Miss Wei home?"
General Fang quickly replied, "Miss Wei said she wanted to go back to the Wind Listening Tower. She told me not to see her off."
Lord Rong frowned. "Fine. Let's go to Lanshan Temple and teach that little rascal a lesson!"
When leaving the Bashan Night Rain Teahouse, the middle-aged man who had played chess with Lord Rong nodded and smiled at Wei Dongling.
Wei Dongling guessed that this man must be Prince Rui. She curtsied in return and left the teahouse with Jingzhe.
When they entered the main hall of the Wind Listening Tower, Jingzhe whispered in Wei Dongling's ear, "You should be more careful about Prince Rui."
Wei Dongling was puzzled. "Why?"
Jingzhe lowered her voice again. "After the Zhao family was exposed for illegal iron mining in Xingshan, the emperor sent an imperial envoy to investigate the matter. The imperial envoy was Prince Rui. And at that time, Zhao Chuanyi had already blown up the mountain."
Wei Dongling was shocked. "Really? Does that mean Prince Rui covered up for Zhao Chuanyi?"
Jingzhe nodded slightly.
"Here comes the girl?" Old Master Lin greeted Wei Dongling while handing out milk tea to the customers.
"Yeah!"
Wei Dongling walked over with a smile. She checked the account books, went to the kitchen to see the remaining milk tea, and then inspected the quality of the newly ordered paper cups. She nodded in satisfaction. She thought that she'd print some unique words on the paper cups when she was free later to promote the brand.
Yes! She had to work hard to make the business bigger and stronger!
It wasn't dark yet, but all the milk tea in the Wind Listening Tower had been sold out. Wei Dongling went back with the others.
When she saw Aunt Liu, Wei Dongling asked anxiously, "Aunt Liu, have you seen Mr. Yu come back?"
Aunt Liu waved her hand and said anxiously, "Didn't Mr. Yu go out with you? He hasn't come back yet. Miss Wei, someone from General Qi's mansion came just now."
Wei Dongling asked, "General Qi's mansion? Was it someone from Miss Qi?"
Aunt Liu looked a bit embarrassed. She shook her head and said, "The man said he was a servant of Master Qi. He said Master Qi sent him to ask if you had given a gold ring to a maid today."
It was Lvkou!
Wei Dongling was stunned for a moment. She nodded and said, "Yes, I did. What's wrong?"
Aunt Liu replied, "The people from General Qi's mansion insisted that the maid had stolen the gold ring from her mistress and wanted to sell her off! The maid was tortured into admitting that you had given her the ring. You weren't at home at that time. I thought it was a matter of life and death, so I told the servant to go back and tell them that you had indeed given the ring."
The people from General Qi's mansion were always fair and just. Why would they wrongly accuse Lvkou? Fortunately, Aunt Liu was smart enough to admit it.
Wei Dongling's face darkened. She was still a bit worried. She rushed into the backyard to lead Xiaohong. She wanted to go to General Qi's mansion in person to find out what was going on.